


Ruby wings for copper scales

by Sandentwins



Series: Knight of Fire Breath [3]
Category: Homestuck
Genre: Alternate Universe - Dragons, Multi
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2013-06-06
Updated: 2013-06-06
Packaged: 2017-12-18 01:29:35
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings, Graphic Depictions Of Violence
Chapters: 1
Words: 5,828
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/874124
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Sandentwins/pseuds/Sandentwins
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>Years have gone by. Daiven Stride, young dreamful boy, joins the Sky Dweller's fleet with his dragon Copper. But as they go on a suicide mission to save the young Serkyl, Daiven will discover the truth behind his birth...something that'll change his life forever.</p>
            </blockquote>





	Ruby wings for copper scales

Today, the mood was pretty upbeat. My teammates, usually grumpy, were now excited about the new creature that has beencaught some days earlier.  
One of us would become a Sky Dweller by taming the dragon.  
I watched it through its cell's metal fences. Fudge scales, sharp teeth, long horns. Its thorns were arranged like a funny mohawk on its head, and I noticed its back limbs were injuried. Makara, the guy who have caught the beast, was pretty proud of his job. I saw the dragon trying to eat its chains, destroy the walls, or even bite the guards, to no avail. I was fascinated by its majesty.

"Hey, Daiven, still sleeping?", my teammate jokingly asked.

Daiven Stride, that was my name. I was the only rust blood in the Blue Swords, Alternia's soldiers, thus making me the last one to be sent in mission. Or rather the first 'volunteer' for 1st line-fight. I used to be bullied by older soldiers, but I have proven that I could be as brave as them. That's what first gave me this place as a Blue; when I want something, I can do everything to have it. But even if I put all my heart and guts in it, I would never ride the dragon.  
The chief called us all in the base court for the test. Two soldiers brought the dragon. The challenge was simple; the one who stays the longer on the dragon's back has the right to tame it and thus becoe a Sky Dweller.

"Makara, you got the beast, you go first.", the chief said.

The clownish guy climbed on the saddle they put on the dragon's back, but it reared up two seconds after, sending him two feet away. It then was Zahhak's turn, but despite his strenght, he failed too. Serket, Pyrope, they all failed. Even if they were strong and feared, they couldn't hold the beast for more than ten seconds.

"General failure", Zahhak commented.

"-Wait.", I said.

Everyone turned to me. I heard them laugh. The chief looked at me like if I suddenly turned blue.

"If you want to break all of your bones, your choice, lowblood.", he just said.

He was right. I was about to get bitten by the dragon's sharp teeth, but it was my chance and I'll probably not have another. I entered the large paddock, the beast staring into my eyes hidden by black shades. I took these off, and returned his glare. For a minute, none of us moved. I heard the mockings of my teammates, but slowly, very carefully, walked to the dragon. I put a hand on its neck. The feeling wasn't bad; its scales were round, soft. The sunlight was reflecting on these copper little mirrors, throwing small brown beams onto the ground. I was fascinated.

"Are ya gonna move, Stride?", Makara shouted.

I hadn't much choice. I put a hand on the dragon's saddle, took a deep breath, and climbed on its back, ready to be thrown like garbage. Like the garbage everyone always treated me as. But the dragon didn't move. I took the reins, and commanded it to walk left. To my and everyone's surprise, he obeyed. It wasn't doing anything to escape. But it wasn't tired, seeing how it had thrown out the guy before me.  
I suddenly felt something queer. Someone's mind was trying to connect with mine. I closed my spirit to everything trying to burst into my head...but opened it back when I felt distress.

"Hey...the guy on my back...", the head voice was saying.

The dragon. The dragon was communicating with me. Curious, I formuled an answer in my mind.

"Yes?"

"-You got to help me! They have caught me, they have token my sister away, I need your help!"

I stayed surprised. Around me, the mumblings of the jealous soldiers were buzzing like bees. The chief told me to stop and climb down, but I was listening to the dragon only.

"Help me, troll! Help me, please!"

"-I...I can't do much right now..."

I told him to stop walking, and climbed down. The others were voiceless.

"Well...I think I'm the most able to tame this dragon.", I chuckled.

No reaction. The chief then walked to me.

"Well, Stride...it's oblivious that you're the best for this."

He put the Sky Dwellers' badge on my armor. Then the shoutings began.

"That's cheating!"

"-He's just a rust blood!"

"-Where's our honor?"

The dragon suddenly growled. Everyone shut the fuck down. For the first time of my life, I felt superior to these bitches. I turned around to the dragon.

"Seems that you and me will stay together."

\---

During the two weeks the training period have lasted, my dragon did fare alright. But when we had to fight for real, it began to feel depressive. Despite the fact I hadn't the guts to use the whip on it like all the other dragons, it sometimes refused to obey. Chained to the ground even during exercices, only fed greasy meat, it had good reasons to be sad.  
One night, unable to sleep, I came in its tight cell, and sat in front of the dragon. Its head rested on my knees, like a dog's. I stroked its horns, making it have an odd purr.

"H...help...", it thought.

"-I'm sorry.". I answered talking.

But these bronze eyes, tearing, were too heart-breaking. I felt the pity running to these eyes to my vascular pump.

'I'll see what I can do."

I went out, guilty of having lied to the dragon. It was just an animal...but it could talk to me, it had feelings...it was a dilemma. But I remembered how the Blue Swords had treated me when I enroled in their army.  
Slowly, caaaaaarefully, I tiptoed to major Redglare's room, where the keys were. They were hung on a nail, right above her bed. She was sleeping, and snoring. With the most precaution possible, I reached out to the keyring, grabbing it in sort that the dozen of keys doesn't make noise.  
I failed. She woke up.  
I grabbed the fucking keys and ran through the corridors while she called the guards with her whistle. The deafening sound followed me as I bursted into the dragon's cell, fussing with the keys to find the right one. I eventually opened its chains, and it took me on its back, running outside. The guards were right behind us. They shoot, and my dragon took the bullet in his leg. It had a pain roar, turned to the guards, and threw little fireballs at them.

"Hey, boy, we had to find a solution!", I mind-shouted.

"-Ride me while I fly away."

On these words, he ran with pain to the soldiers and took off. He flew over the others' amazed heads, over the fences, over the walls, then bent up in a perfect right angle and rose to the clouds.

"Wh...where are we going?", I shouted.

"-Far away!", the dragon answered.

He just talked. I never imagined dragons could talk. I suddenly realized we were flying, flying over the nearly village of Prospit, over the surprised few inhabitants. I clung to the dragon's neck, a bit scared of the heights. Seeing my apprehension, he flew down, and finally landed in the middle of the Lopah woods. I jumped off his back, and ran away, but I suddenly felt something grabbing my shoulders.

"Watch out! There's a trap in front of you!", the dragon said.

A stone fell on the grass right before me, and fell in a hole, full of pointy rocks and covered in grass. I turned around, and instead of the bronze lizard, I saw a young boy, wearing fur clothes. His horns and hair were the same as the dragon's, and his eyes were the sparkliest golden brown I've ever seen.

"Wh...who are you?", I asked.

"-I'm the dragon you just rode on.", the boy answered.

He suddenly fell on the ground. His leg was bleeding, just like the dragon's. I kneeled to him, and carefully took his limb in my hands. The blood was fudge brown, just one scale above mine. I had the feeling I could trust him, just like he trusted me.

"What can I do to heal these wounds?", I asked.

"-My father always uses some kind of plants as dressing...these have large leaves and white flowers."

I looked around, and found some under a tree. I made him a solid bandage, and helped him to stand up.

"I realize I still don't know your name. Does dragons have one?"

"-I'm Copper.", he answered.

"-Daiven. Say, why did you wanted me to run away with you?"

"-Because...I want you to help me save my sister."

"-...but why me? Why not someone else?"

"-I don't know, but I just knew I could trust you, unlike the other trolls. It was like..."

"-...a special bond."

We stared in each other eyes for a second, before Copper turned back into a dragon. He looked to the trees, the grass, the trap.

"This place...I never went here, but it's...familiar."

He gazed around, walking between the centenary trees. I followed him.

"That's how you can tell where the traps are?"

"-It's easy to locate them. They used to protect from the Blue Swords."

I swallowed my saliva, wondering who could have built these.

"Protect what?"

He didn't answer.

"What's...this?", I suddenly asked, pointing a ruiny shed in the tree branches.

The dragon opened wide eyes when he saw it. Flying to the tree before turning back into a troll, me following behind, he entered in the miserable hovel, and burst into tears. I couldn't understand, until I saw the two corpses lying on the moisty planks.  
They were just two skeletons holding each other, a rusty piece of blade in both of their chests. A spider had braided its web inside their skulls. The empty eye holes were staring at each other's face, their mouths were bent into an eternal smile, their fingers interwined, and one of them had his leg around the other's waist. Copper knelt to the bodies, wiping his tears off, and lowered his head like if he was praying. Slowly, he reached his hand out to the bones, gently stroked these, like a relic.

"They're here...that's here that they met...", he muttered to himself.

He then turned to me.

"They're my ancestors...the parents of my grandfather. I was fond of their legend."

I knelt next to him, and looked at the corpses. Around them were rotten flowers, dead candles, and some pieces of an old armor. They seemed to be there for about twenty sweeps, judging by the dust.

"My grandfather told me their tale... A troll and a dragon, two renegates. They escaped the claws of the Blue Swords."

"-Wh...what happened then?", I shyly muttered.

"-They got caught. They had to...commit suicide...to be free..."

He cried again. I wrapped an arm around his shoulders, telling him to calm the fuck down. To show him my compassion, I lit up the candle with my stone lighter. Under the weak light, the scene seemed even more creepy.

"When the Blue Swords have thrown their bodies...their son, my grandfather, had brought them here. It was where they used to live."

"-I understand your pain, but now c'mon. We have to find a good place to rest."

I looked at the bodies' horns. One had nubby ones, the other had them wavy. I remember the legend of the blue dragon and the red blood-ed peasant who brought it to the Blues, but came back to save him. Near the corpse, the armor which lost its brightness sweeps ago, was with its claw traces and broken nettings the proof of their fight. While Copper was already climbing down the tree, I carefully took one of the metal scales, and put it in my pocket.

"May it bring me luck.", I told to myself.

\---

"When did you decided to become a Blue Sword?", Copper asked as he flew.

"-Three sweeps ago. My father wanted me to have a great life, but it has been hard to be accepted as a Blue."

The weather was pretty calm during our flight above Lotaf high grass plains. Copper said he was returning home, but in this case, why did he bring me with him? The answer was simple: he was going to eat me. Kill me after I have saved him. My sword was ready, ready to slice his head off if he attempted anything on me. But as we were flying, he was opening his mind more to me. I had a mental access to all of his memories: his life on the white mountains with his dragon family, his adventures, the pain he felt when he saw his sister being caught by the Blues, his fear when he was caught too, and also the bond he felt he could share with me. I wasn't ready to befriend this dragon, even if he had been my partner these last weeks, even if we were flying together...I just couldn't be friends with a dragon.

"Daiven...I feel tired. I'll land for some hours."

"-Alright."

He flew down to the hills. The moment I put a feet on the ground, I felt something strange. As if I was watching a movie, scenes suddenly burst into my mind: a green and a blue dragon fighting, a ruby red egg, a girl kissing a winged boy, then riding a red dragon, three wrigglers playing in the grass, a pink young girl, a bronze egg...

"Is everything okay?", Copper in his troll form suddenly asked.

I woke up from my transe, realizing I was laying down on the ground.

"W...what the heck just happened?", I stuttered.

"-This place is full of memories. I have felt the same.", he answered, his hands on my shoulders.

I looked around me. He was right; I was hearing all sort of noises led by the wind: screams, cries, laughs, howls... The bright stars were telling the tales they have watched for sweeps. I was feeling the excitation of the sensual nights, the joy of the eggs' hatchings, the pain of the separation and the deaths, the heath of the fights, the warmth of the kisses...  
The feeling of being alive.

"It's amazing", I whispered.

I stood up. My stomach suddenly growled.

"Hungry?", Copper asked me. "Gotta hunt."

He spread out his wings and flew between the hills. I watched his bronze body disappear behind the grass, as I sat down and listened to the wind.

\---

The taste of the meat was delicious. Copper had lit up a fire as the moons' light was hidden by clouds. I wondered if my teammates were chasing me...if I still was one of them. Despite the fire, I was shivering of cold. The dragon covered me with his wing. It had the shape of a bat wing, but was covered in hundreds of golden little feathers, which were tickling my face. I wrapped myself in this soft cover, taking my armor-plates off, lying down on the grass natural matress. I felt Copper's breath next to me. My hand searched for my sword's hilt, but his hand stopped mine. I turned around, only to see his troll form with dragon wings, one covering me. He was grinning, and I couldn't help smiling back.

"Daiven?", he suddenly asked.

"-Mhh?"

"-Why don't you want to be my friend?"

I was surprised and a bit troubled by this question. I did not want to be mean with him, but I couldn't lie.

"You're a dragon. I don't know anything about your race. I'm scared...you could suddenly feel hungry and eat me like a hopbeast."

I suddenly felt his fingers on my mouth.

"It's not true. I'll never eat you. It'd be madness to eat you."

"-But I'm a troll...I'm a Blue Sword...these guys only want to kill the dragons, to destroy our race! They..."

I suddenly stopped. Why have I said 'our' race? This surely was an awkward lapsus I hope Copper hadn't noticed.

"Daiven...please be quiet. We'll need to fly for a long distance tomorrow."

His horn touched mine, and during the time this contact lasted, I felt relieved for the first time of the day.

\---

As I fluttered my eyes open, yawning, I heard an horrible noise. An horrendous, terrible roar. The Sky Dwellers! I stood up, put my armor back on, and drew my sword. I couldn't tell the dragon caught me; I was the one who freed him. The roars were getting closer, right above me. One second, I had a terrible feeling of deja-vu. A huge dragon, with amethyst shining scales, was flying down to us. Copper woke up at the noise of these imposant wings flapping, and stood in front of me, in a protective stance. The other dragon landed, and turned into a troll.  
She was about twenty sweeps old. Her blonde hair was flowing like a river on her black dress. Her face was familiar. I'm sure I've seen her somewhere. She walked past Copper, and put her hand on my shoulder. This contact was familiar too. She growled softly in my ears, in a dragon language I couldn't understand. Her voice...  
A memory rose up to my mind. I was just a wriggler at the time. The same voice, the same growls, the same purple eyes. But I couldn't put a finger on her identity. I asked her with a shy voice.

"Who...who are you?"

She had a smile.

"My name is Methys. I was told your visit there."

She then looked at Copper.

"I feel in your veins the blood of Safire, the dragon who had saved me. Is this true?"

"-I'm his descendant, Methys-karan."

"-You had been told the etiquette of our race, good."

Copper explained me that it was how a young dragon calls his elders. To talk to one's own family or clan's older member, they use the term masan.

"Where are you going?", Methys asked.

"-My sister Serkyl had been caught by the Blue Swords, but she had been taken elsewhere. My friend Daiven is a Blue Sword, he probably knows."

I put on a poker face. I wasn't a world map, I didn't have a fucking clue about where the dragon was! But I couldn't sit idly without at least doing something.

"Daiven...", Methys repeated.

She smiled.

"Well, I have to leave now. It was such a pleasure to meet you, dear Daiven. I hope that someday, you'll understand your true potential."

I hadn't the time to answer, she already was a dragon. Her wings fluttered.

"Watch out. The Blue Swords are after you. They'll be at Lotaf very soon."

She took off. I watched her disappear in the air, between the clouds, in the direction of the morning sun, letting me to my thoughts. What did she mean by 'my true potential'? Copper wrapped his arm around my shoulder.

"Gotta go, pal."

He was right. I climbed on his dragon back, and flew with him some feet above the grass. I felt something pulse on my back. I raised my head, and breathed in the soft air. The pulse grew faster, in an odd manner, when I suddenly felt pain between my shoulder blades. I held my breath for a few seconds, until it disappeared. I groped my back, to only feel my armor.

"Something's wrong?" Copper politely asked.

"-N...no, that's alright..."

I was lying.

\---

"Won't you tell me where the fuck we're going if you don't have any idea about where is your sis?"

"-Returning home. My home. I have to reassure my family."

"-Aren't you afraid they eat me?"

"-Don't worry, Daiven. My grandmother is a troll."

I was stunned. Troll-dragon relations were possible? I hadn't the time to ask myself; in front of us, the Lolcat white mountains were showing. This place was one of the highest in all Alternia. Around one of the stone peaks, a red dragon was flying. Copper landed in front of a large cave. All of a sudden, three adult dragons flew out. I hid behind Copper's neck, scared.

"Copper, you're alive!", the blue dragon said.

He hugged him with his wings. Next to him, the red and green ones noticed me.

"A troll!"

"-Look at his armor! He's a Blue!"

They ran to catch me, but the blue one stopped them.

"Karkat, Nepeta, don't worry. He's a friend.", he said.

"-Gettin' blind, Cobalt? It's our enemy!", Karkat shouted.

Copper turned into an human, making me fall in front of the three beasts. Next to them, the bronze dragon only was a baby. I took my sword and threw it at my feet, to show them I didn't want to harm anybody. They stared at me for long instants, but the green dragon interrupted this gaze by sniffing me. Suddenly, she turned into a female troll.

"We can trust him. He's..."

She didn't finish her sentence.

"Erm...listen, I'd really like to help you, but I can't do much to save...er...", I began.

"-Her name's Serkyl. She's my daughter.", Cobalt said. "She's too young and may die in the hand of the Blues."

"-Young? Mhhh...I think i know where she is."

I explained them that beyond the river, on Lomat cliffs, was a Blue Swords' base for young dragons. They were used as messagers or supply carriers, being too small for the battlefield.

"It's not so far from there. She's certainly there."

"-And what tells me I can trust you?"

"-To save your daughter, you'll have to, Cobalt-karan."

This sort of convinced him. All of a sudden, the red dragon landed. He was twice the size of Karkat, but his eyes were full of kindness. On his back was an old woman aged about thirty sweeps. He turned into a troll, and walked to me. He drew his claws in a defensive gesture.

"No, Kankri-masan!", Nepeta told him. "He's a friend!"

"The ones who have taken my children aren't my friends!"

He rushed on me, ready to attack. I protected my face with my arms, closing eyes, waiting for these talons to tear my flesh at any instant.  
But I didn't feel anything. Copper, in a crazy heroic gesture, had taken the hit in his own chest. He fell on me with a growl of pain. The elder dragon had his claws covered in bronze blood. I leaned over my friend's wound, not knowing what to do. Hopefully, the claw marks weren't as deep as I thought. I hugged my friend when he opened his eyes again.

"Don't...hurt him...",he muttered to the dragon. "He wants to...help us."

"-He has the scent of...you know...", Nepeta began, still without finishing.

"-...alright, but if he attempts anything, I cut him in pieces.", Kankri growled.

"-You're the one who's attempting something.", I giggled.

He had a little grin. He took Copper in his arms, and gently blew some blue fire on his wounds. They magically closed, and the skin was totally cleaned.

"I want to go with Daiven.", Copper said once healed. "I want to deliver Serkyl."

"-No, it's too dangerous!", Nepeta answered. "You'll get killed!"

"-I promise on my honor that I will protect him at any costs.", I affirmed.

Kankri looked at me, at Copper, then at somewhere beyond the river.

"Alright.", he finally said in a whisper.

I smiled. Copper took me on his back, ran on the rocks and took off. As I watched the other dragons becme smaller and smaller, the pulse in my spine has come back. Maybe was it the height that was giving me vertigo? Impossible; I had flew on Copper's back many times, some even higher than this, but never felt any bad. My dragon felt the same feeling as me.

"Will someone tell me what's going on already?", I said out of exasperation.

No one did answer.

\---

"I think that's purely suicide."

The Lomat Blue Swords basement had the same size as Prospit's; but there were even more guards. I could hear from here the desperate howls of the young dragons. There were even babies, and some eggs kept by the rapacious Sky Dwellers.

"Hey, Daiven...are you, uh...growling?", Copper asked.

He was right. From my throat was coming a strange growling noise.

"I...don't know. I'm pretty angry."

"-Yeah, but focus. Don't you have a plan?"

"-It seems that only Sky Dwellers can enter this base..."

I showed him my shining silver badge, representing a dragon with open wings.

"...and I think I'm able to."

I climbed on his back, and trotted slowly, like on a horse. At the entrance of the base, the two guards stopped me with their lances.

"No dragons there.", one growled.

"-Major Redglare from Prospit's base is sending me. I have to check on our recruits."

They exchanged some words, and pulled their lances aside. I rode on Copper slowly, but had to make him turn into a troll to enter the main building. What I saw then was an horrible spectacle.  
It was like a huge barkbeast pound, but with dragons inside the cages. Some were in their troll form, some were just babies, many were so skinny I could see their skeletons through the faded scales. On a shelf, four or five eggs were laying on dirty hay. The guards had followed me, but I told them to let me alone while I was 'examinating' the creatures. Once they went away, Copper ran through the long caged corridor, searching for Serkyl. But even if he finds her, how would we save her? The metal barriers were too solid to be chopped down by claws or teeth.

"Daiven!", Copper silently shouted.

He was cuddling a young girl through the fences. Her odd blue eyes were crying, both of pain and joy. She was about two sweeps younger than Copper. I walked to her, slowly reached out to her head, and stroked her hair gently. I suddenly heard a little metal sound, like a tinkerbell. It was coming from me...from my pocket.  
Redglare's keys!  
Watching no one was around, I took them and tried the different keys on the cell's keyhole, one by one. But there were dozens of keys for a very short time, and I was about to give up, when I heard a click. The cell's door opened, and the siblings cuddled.

"Copper, we have to go!", she shouted.

"-Listen...", I cut. "I'll catch up. Go ahead, Coppie."

He blushed a little at the name, and kissed me on the cheek.

"See you very soon, Daiven."

They turned into dragons and ran to the exit, while I was unlocking the other dragons' doors. I wasn't doing this out of pity; it rather was a feeling of justice that I felt while freeing these poor guys. They were first afraid of me, but soon started to trust me as they were running for freedom. I told the older ones to take the eggs with them, then drew my sword and ran with them. Outside, the Blues were shooting bullets at the flying lizards, riding their feather- and hoofbeasts. One put a rifle in my hands and told me to help them. Copper suddenly turned to me. I didn't move for two seconds, but my hands did. They aimed, they pulled the trigger.  
The soldier fell down in a pool of cyan blood.  
Everyone, troll or dragon, stopped and stared at me. My whole body was shivering. The pulse in my back bad come back, but this time, it was more intense. The pain was there too, but I only was caring for the rifke in my hands. I shot another soldier down, and an other one, and a fourth one, until I ran out of bullets. Above me, the dragons were escaping, and the light on their scales was creating a rainbow of blue, green, gold, pink, violet, brown...so many colors that made my eyes hurt.

"D...Daiven...", Copper stuttered.

I turned to him, and saw the large wound on his belly. Bronze blood was flowing between his fingers he was keeping pressed against the hole in his flesh left by the bullet. I knelt next to him, held his hand in mine, and kissed his forehead. Next to me, Serkyl was crying. I closed my eyes, and took a deep breath, then blew softly on Copper's wound. The gust of air coming from my lips was hot, really hot, and made my dragon friend feel less pain. Little blueish embers appeared. I kept on blowing the blue fire, not knowing what I was doing. When my lips closed, the wound had disappear, and the skin was neat and clean. I wanted to move or talk, but my body was paralyzed. My throat was burning. Suddenly, I dropped the rifle and fell on my knees, holding my head in my hands, the pain in my body becoming more insufferable as the seconds were passing. Copper took me in his arms, but the burning sensation wouldn't want to go away. It was like if the skin of my back was tearing up. I hastly took my armor off, to Copper and everyone's great surprise. I twisted my neck to see what was going on...and saw two feathery buds coming out of my back. Copper drew his claws.

"Wh...what the fuck are you doing!?", I harshly asked.

He didn't listened, and put two claws on my back, one under each bud. All of a sudden, he tore up my skin, tracing two lines from my shoulders to my hips. I screamed. But it wasn't blood that flow out of my back. Instead, two garnet red wings sprout out my flesh.  
This was the first thing I remembered before passing out.

\---

The warmth. The fluffness. The safeness.  
I travelled back in time. I was a wriggler again. I watched my little black legs as they were squirming in the air. Suddenly, they turned into claws. I was a bit scared, but a kiss on my head reassured me. This scent was familiar. This scent was the definition of secure. I was hearing voices.

"I'm sorry", the woman's soft voice was saying, almost whispering.

"-Wait...you can't...", the man answered.

"-I'm sorry, Derick. I have to go. The Blue Swords are after me."

"-He's your child, Rosaly. He needs you."

"-My name, from now on, is Methys."

I smelled the rose scent one more time. Her voice was closer.

"Good bye, Rubeat. Someday...we'll meet again."

I felt her lips on my wriggler head. Then the scent went away. I remember having cried. I remember solid arms cuddling me against a solid chest.

"Don't worry, baby. Don't worry..."

His scent was taking over the soft one, slowly. I dug my claws in the man's shirt, scared, only wanting her to come back.

"...Daiven."

\---

"Daiven? Daiven! Wake up!", Copper was shouting in my ears.

I had troubles to open my eyes. Around me, I recognized Copper's family members, all harboring a relieved face.

"You're alive!", the bronze dragon exclamated, hugging me.

I remembered the pain. The fight. The dream.

"Wh...where am I?", I asked drowsily.

"-Still at Lomat."

This voice was familiar. So familiar. I tilted my head to the side, trying to see who talked. I recognized the blonde hair cascade at first sight.

"M...Methys-karan..."

"-No, Rubeat. Methys-masan. I'm your mother."

She cuddled me, but when I wanted to hug back, I saw my arms were covered in scales. I had a surprised growl.

"Rubeat. I can't hide it anymore; you're a dragon. I wanted your father to make someone out of you, so you could live without being hunted."

She showed the Sky Dweller badge on my taken-off armor.

"And you made it. You're now someone venerable in our clan, for saving all these young dragons."

This revelation had troubles to find its way in my tired thinkpan. I flapped my wings, like to check if they still were here. I closed eyes, and turned back into a troll without the slightiest pain. The red wings had disappeared, but I concentrated on my back's pulses, and made them appear. Copper gave me an explanation.

"Dragons can turn into trolls to hide among them. When we're young, we don't have wings, so they naturally found their way through the skin at puberty. Yours had been pressed under an armor for years, they're still under-developed. You have to use yourself to their presence.

"-And soon you'll be a proud and fiery dragon, despite the fact you used to be a Blue sword.", Methys added.

"-Troll or dragon, Blue or red...I fucking don't care."

I hugged Methys, my mother, the one I owe my life to. I kept her close to me, breathing in the rose scent that awoke up so many memories in my heart. Around me, Kankri's descendants were smiling.

"Hey, Dai...Rubeat.", Copper chuckled. "Wanna go flying with me?"

"-You betcha!"

He ran on the cliff, faster and faster, then jumped and spread out his wings, doing little loops in the air. I awkwardly imited him, and for the first time in my life, under the encouraging roars of the dragons, I rode the sky. The feeling of freedom was amazing, it was making my heart beat at an incredible speed, especially when Copper grabbed my claws. We turned into winged trolls as we were flying above the Losaz beach, to truly enjoy our solitude. Together, we would enjoy the sunset that was reflecting its hundred colors over Lodag sea, enjoy our arms wrapped around each other, enjoy our lips touching in thirstiness of ourselves, enjoy the night of love that followed, enjoy his skin stroking mine, enjoy his life flowing inside of me, enjoy the sand warming us up like a cover, enjoy our new life I was ready to live with him.  
Before I fell asleep, I saw someone sitting on the sand. He was wearing a shining version of the rusty armor I have seen in Lopah's shed. In his hand was the little old metal scale I have kept during all this time. He turned to me, and grinned. I recognized his nubby horns. He walked to me, slowly, and put the scale in my hand. His' was cold, really cold, and I shivered. I looked at my palm, and only saw the brightness of the blue metal reflecting the moonlight. But its owner had disappeared, letting me to my dreams.  
And as the sun rose in the sky I was proud riding on, I was feeling Copper's love in every part of my body. Especially in that place where I could feel the shell forming inside of me.


End file.
